Into the Madhouse
by god-of-crazy
Summary: Ness, Pikachu and Yoshi have been committed to a nuthouse.  Continuation of One Morning.
1. Chapter 1

"Hey. Hey! Ness! Wake up!"

*snort* "What…no…don't eat me…I…I told you…I got *Yawn* rabies."

"I'm not some art professor's sketching of his mother-in-law. It's me, Yoshi. We're here."

Pikachu snorted. "You're a talking lizard that's always hungry whose family is one giant rainbow. If anything, your entire species manifested through the collective unconsciousness of all those stoners in the 60s."

"Oh, is it time for another thrilling discussion of existentialism? I'd be more wary of throwing stones in glass houses, Pikachu. Satoshi Tajiri probably thought of you when he saw a rat chew through an electric wire."

"mmmmmpppphh," said Jiggplypuff.

"No one cares about you!" scoffed Yoshi. "No one's _gettin' Jiggly_ with it! You're just like every other two-bit Pokemon whose only fame was one annoying characteristic! Yours was to sing. Very. Very. Badly."

Jigglypuff's eyes teared up before bursting out into a flood of tear-rific proportions.

"Calm down, Yoshi! Look what you've done," scolded Pikachu. "She's not going to stop."

"I don't care!" replied Yoshi. "She had to learn that people with no talent should just stick to being critics."

"How will they know unless they try?" asked Pikachu.

"You mean like American Idol?" Asked Yoshi. "Every year, for every adequate and ticket worthy audition, thousands of lame-ass hacks and wanabees, with their larynges crushed and replaced with a metal grinder, show up to desecrate beloved songs. And if it wasn't their mirror cracking singing that had people cheering on Simon, it was their prima donna attitude. Can you believe what they say after they're rejected?"

'I'm going be a star no matter what they tell me! I don't need a multinational network to get exposure!'

"Most of them probably thought that diving headfirst into concrete blocks was going to be the next extreme sport."

SNNNNNOOOORRREEEE.

Yoshi gave an insubstantial kick to Bowser's enormous gut. "How does Bowser get any sleep at night? It sounds like he's being suffocated by a trash compactor."

"Wha…that doesn't make any sense," said Pikachu.

"You face doesn't make sense!"

"Neither does that statement. In fact, your face probably makes the least amount of sense."

"No it doesn't. I eat a lot."

"Yeah, you do. But you don't need a long snout. I would understand it if it were lined with teeth, but you don't have teeth. You don't even chew."

"So?" asked Yoshi.

"That makes the snout superfluous. You could sever your snout and other than being a slightly more hideous monster and an absence of a sense of smell, you'd still lead the same life as before."

"Well….uh…you see…it's…because…"

"Guys, settle down," pleaded Ness. "You act like we've been in here for years. It must have been, what, only three hours?"

"I can't believe they managed to pull this off," said Pikachu. "What government agency would actually allow this to happen?"

"Oh, I don't think there hauling us to a government facility, guys," said Yoshi, who was looking out the barred windows of the vehicle.

They all looked at what Yoshi was focusing on and felt doom well in their hearts. It was the standard foreboding facility of doom: high concrete walls with strategically placed watch towers that surrounded a hill upon which the facilities were situated. But it was the gates that drew their utmost attention. The gates held no symmetry of design. It was more of a mash of rusted iron than an actual gate. Inscribed above the gate upon a granite slab were four words:

**Krusty's House of Madmen**

"That is so politically incorrect," commented Pikachu

"At least one of us is going to end up dead," said Yoshi.

"That clown will put his name on anything," noted Ness.

Mmmppph, chimed in Jigglypuff.

Bowser just snored.

As they came closer to the gates, the mish-mash of rusted iron began to twist and move. Remarkably, the entire construct began to untwine as if by magic. Once each thread of twisted metal became free from one another, it drew back, allowing a clear entrance for the van. What made it more eerie was that there was not a sound made throughout the entire process.

"Oh, man," said Yoshi. "Dark magic! It is worst than I thought. There's going to be demons, devils, monsters, and insane people roaming the halls who will suffocate you with a pillow before throwing a large control panel through a window and then run off into the sunset!"

They all stared at him.

"You know," said Yoshi. "'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'?"

They kept staring.

"It was made into a movie with Jack Nicolson!"

Yep, they're still staring.

Yoshi frowned. "Doesn't anyone read classical literature?"

No one put up a hand.

"Okay, whatever, I'm just going to sit here and -I don't know - try to control my bladder."

And so they calmly awaited their fate, each of them controlling their own bladder to the best of their abilities. Of course it was a lot harder to do so when they glanced through the rear window and watch the mish-mash of iron silently reassemble itself back into a dark and foreboding gate.

The playback of Krusty's laugh over the P.A. when the gate was sealed didn't help either.

* * *

Okay, so where have I been?

To be honest, I lost interest and college was very demanding. As for Rise of Champions, I'm sorry, but it'll be on the back burner for an indefinite period of time. The time and effort to fulfill the scope that I first intended is too much and...well, to be honest, I'm not happy with it so far and it just wasn't enjoyable to write it.

As for the Odd Job Squad, I'll either take it down or rewrite it completely.


	2. Chapter 2

The gang was escorted by a number of burly men into a examination room. They carted Bowser to some undisclosed location...is what I would like to say. They did the math and figured that it would be cheaper to dump him outside. And so they did for the good of the institution's bottom line. As for Jigglypuff's fate, they decided that her talents could be used for the benefit of the institution. She was to be assigned to the wing of the asylum that housed the most deranged and dangerous.

Don't worry. She'll be fine. I think.

That left three individuals who could not be outwitted by a sack of rocks and a rotten tomato. Which also meant they would be acutely aware of the suffering they were about to endure.

While waiting in the examination room, Ness turned towards one of the orderlies. "What's going to happen?" he asked.

The orderly turn his gaze to the young boy and spoke in a gravelly voice.

"You will first be examined by a psychiatrist to assess the degree of psychosis that you may be suffering from and then you will be prescribed a treatment."

"But I'm not insane!" exclaimed Ness.

The orderly shrugged. "It's not my place to render a diagnosis. I just haul people like you around."

"But shouldn't it be an one-on-one session with the psychiatrist?" asked Yoshi.

The orderly shrugged again. "Look, I'm not even a trained orderly. I actually work in the film industry."

Pikachu squinted at the orderly. His eyes went eye wide with recognition. "Wait a minute! Weren't you in Waterworld?"

The orderly suddenly brought his wrist up to his eyes and slapped his forehead.

"Whoa, will you look at the time! I have to get going. The doctor will be with you shortly."

"Hey," said Ness, "you're not wearing a wrist watch!"

The orderly made a mad dash out the door. His fellow orderlies calmly filed out leaving the three completely alone in the office.

"I wonder what Jigglypuff is doing now?" mused Yoshi.

"It can't be anything worst than we're in," said Ness. "We have to focus on staying alive. This is as much a mental institution as Mario is a plumber."

"I wonder who will be our psychiatrist?" asked Pikachu.

"Probably some amoral psychopathic quack who couldn't hack it as a game tester for 'Operation'," replied Ness.

Just then, the door swung open and in came Dr. Nick.

"Hi everybody!"

"Hi Doctor Nick!"

The three of them shook their heads. They had no idea what compelled them to greet the doctor in that manner. They didn't even know him before today.

"So," said Dr. Nick, "which one of you is insane?"

"Ummm, Dr. Nick," said Ness, "even though it is your _job_ to diagnosis the degree and manner of psychosis, we're not insane."

"Also," pipped in Pikachu, "I don't think you're suppose to go with the initial assumption that we are insane."

"Also," pipped in Yoshi, "didn't I see you scrubbing toilets at a mall?"

Dr. Nick smiled and gestured for them to slow down. "Wow, so many questions and worries. But don't fret. You have the best help available that this hospital is willing to spend."

"Did I see you scrubbing toilets or not?" asked Yoshi.

Dr. Nick shrugged. "That was probably one of the times I lost my medical license."

The examination room became shrouded in stunned silence.

"You _lost_ your license repeatedly?" asked Pikachu.

"Yes," said Dr. Nick, " the last time I lost it was when I when I ran over the foot of the chairman of the medical board of Springfield."

Ness raised an eyebrow in surprise. "That's it?"

"I also set fire to the burn ward. Flammable and Inflammable mean the same thing, did you know that?"

Again, awkward silence filled the room.

"How did you get your medical license back?" asked Yoshi.

"Well, it was a lot of hard work, but with black mail and prescribing drugs to people who didn't need it, I got my license back."

"I...see," said Ness. "Look, are you a trained psychiatrist?"

"I've almost finished chapter one of 'Psychiatry for Dummies'," replied Dr. Nick.

"So you have no practical experience," said Pikachu.

Dr. Nick scoffed. "Of course I have experience, yellow ratty thing. I'm treating you, aren't I?"

"No, I mean before us."

"Yes, lots of people."

"And?" asked Pikachu.

"And what," asked Dr. Nick.

"How are they?" said Pikachu.

"Oh, they're fine and healthy. Just completely nutso. In fact, some more than before."

"So, has anyone been discharged from the hospital with a clean bill of health?" asked Yoshi.

"Not yet," said Dr. Nick, "but I hope that you three will be the first ones that I cure of insanity."

"Again," emphasized Ness, "we're not insane."

Dr. Nick walked over to Ness and squinted. "Hmm, you're a smart little boy. Is it because you're an insane genius."

"No, I'm neither. We're here because we're victims of a prank."

"Hmmm, these people that prank you, are they here in the room right now?"

Ness scowled him. "What? No! Don't be absurd!"

"Good," said Dr. Nick, "I was testing to see if you believe in ghosts."

"Umm, well, I did fight the ghosts of Starmen," admitted Ness.

Dr. Nick nodded and literally wrote squiggle lines on a clipboard. Yeah, right on the board. No paper. "I see. A classic case of alien abduction followed by Shizocastfolopration."

"That's not a word," said Ness.

"It's not? Uh-oh, I better call Webstar's Dictionary."

"That's Webster's," said Pikachu.

"No it's Webstar, see."

Dr. Nick pulls out a thick tome from a shelf. It was titled "Webstar's Dictonary".

"Alright!" shouted Yoshi. "Enough of this crap! We are not meant to be here! We are not insane!"

"Alright, alright," said Dr. Nick as he gestured at Yoshi to calm down, "how about a compromise? I will keep you here for a seven day observation period. If you act normal, than you get to go."

"And if we refuse," asked Yoshi.

"You will be given electric shocks until you are cured of the crazy."

He turned to Pikachu.

"For you, we'll probably need the fusion generator."

The three of them huddled up.

"Suggestions?" asked Ness.

"We should report him to the authorities," said Yoshi.

"I meant about our situation," said Ness. "And besides, that won't work."

"We could always engineer a break out," said Pikachu.

Yoshi snorted in derision. "With what? You don't have your electrical attacks, I don't contribute anything, and Ness has an anti-psychic collar. How did they get it on you anyway?"

"I happen to sleep," replied Ness. "We could take the doctor hostage."

"Are you kidding?" said Pikachu. "The fake stethoscope he came in with has more value than him."

Ness heaved a sigh. "Alright, we accept his offer. If it gets too bad, we'll break out. Hopefully it doesn't have to come to that."

Yoshi snorted. "You know it will."


	3. Chapter 3

The trio were ushered into one of the hospital's recreational areas where their fellow patients were busy with the various activities that were being offered; none of which were practical or safe.

"Look at that," said Yoshi. "Those two are tossing a cinder block between them."

One of them missed and it landed on his foot. He fell to the floor, screaming and clutching his injured foot. The attending orderly rushed over to the wounded patient.

"I told you people not to play with that cinder block," scolded the orderly.

"But," gasped the patient, "there was nothing...else...to do...here!"

The orderly examined the injured foot with a look of pity.

"This is bad. You know what I have to do."

The patient gripped the collar of the orderly.

"No! You can't! Please! Just cut off my foot! Let it fester and rot! Let me die a horrible death! Anything but that!"

"I...I can't, man. I have to call Dr. Nick."

The orderly gently, but firmly removed the patient's hands from his collar. The patient desperately made a grab for the orderly's ankle, but just missed. As he watched the orderly activate the intercom system, he covered his face and quietly wept as the wrongs of the world found their home in his life.

"Well," noted Pikachu, "now we know for certain that there's a fate worst than death or maiming."

Ness shook his head. "If I have be treated by Dr. Nick, I want you to kill me."

"How about we kill Dr. Nick," suggested Yoshi.

Pikachu's face lit up in excitement. "Yeah, let's do that!"

Ness grimaced. "That's going too far. Let's just beat him with a sack of door knobs."

"I'm down with that," said Yoshi. Pikachu nodded in agreement.

And so, the three agreed that should any of them have the misfortune of having Dr. Nick attend them, they would all join together and beat the holy snot out of the bad doctor.

"Well," said Ness, "now that we made our pact to preserve our dignity-"

"And bind ourselves to each other as accessories to battery and assault," chimed in Yoshi.

"or first degree," said Pikachu.

"-we can now began the arduous task of planning an escape from this joke of a medical facility."

"Where do we begin," asked Pikachu.

Ness looked around the recreational room, noting the structures, the architecture, the orderlies, and the patients. The room was made of cheap material. In fact, he suspected that the wall next to him was crafted out of paper mache. Curiosity got the best of him and he tested his theory. He was wrong. It was constructed with blocks of Styrofoam. The flimsy wall came down in an avalanche, burying the teen. He shouldered and punched his way out. After removing the last block that obstructed him, he was greeted with the sight of a group of orderlies who were calmly drinking coffee around a circular, and badly beaten, table.

"Why are the walls made of Styrofoam?" asked Ness.

One of the orderlies sipped his coffee before answering.

"Do you ever wonder why a black hole can never be full?"

Ness turned to one of the other orderlies. "What's the matter with him?"

One of them shrugged. "He's been like that ever since his weekend shift in the basement complex. He hasn't been the same since."

The strange orderly than got up and walked out the entrance of the recreational floor, pouring his coffee onto his head.

"Why hasn't anyone helped him?" asked Ness.

One of the orderlies gulped visibly. "It's a curse set upon him by the witches of the basement."

Ness arched an eyebrow. "Witches? As in "toil, toil, boil"...something or other."

The orderly shook his head. "Nah, this is real, heavy duty stuff. They don't need any spell components. They just draw upon the spirit world."

Ness shook his head. "Riiigghhttt. I'm finding this hard to believe."

"You saw the gate, didn't you?"

Ness nodded.

"Who do you think made that thing?"

"Well, if they're witches, why are they staying in a dump like this?"

The orderly's eyes moved from side to side, scanning the room.

"Why are you doing that?" asked Ness.

"There could be witches."

"What? Now that I took down the wall we have a clear view of the entire floor. I don't see any witches."

"That's what you think."

"Yes! That IS what I think!"

The orderly sighed. "Oh, the youth of today. When will they learn to respect their elders."

Ness drummed his fingers, waving his hands to signal him to hurry it up. The orderly got the cue.

"It began many years ago before the town of Springfield was born."

* * *

It was a dark night even for winter. The wolves were-

* * *

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" exclaimed Ness. "We are not doing a flashback! Just give me the abridged version."

The orderly snorted and made a disparaging comment regarding today's youth. "Alright, fine. Short story is that there use to be cave under this institution which contained a grove that was sacred to the witches of this area. Krusty decided to build this place as a tax write-off. This pissed off the witches. They threatened to hex him and bring the wrath of the coven upon him. He didn't budge. They later brought in their lawyers and that's when he folded like a cheap suit. He agreed to let them use the grounds and apparently some other terms that were left off the official agreement."

"Like what?"

"Probably to keep all of this a secret from the ACLU, the Bureau of Cultural Affairs, FBI, CIA, NSA, IRS...and the list goes on."

"What about the Springfield police?"

The orderly looked at him and Ness looked back. Then they both burst out laughing.

For five whole minutes.

Ness wiped a tear away. "Anyways, what does Krusty get out of this?"

The orderly spread his arms. "You ever wondered why this place hasn't been shut down, yet? That's due mostly to the witches."

"Their dark magic?"

"Yeah, that probably factors in a little. I'm talking about their lawyers."

"Oh," said Ness. "What about these Styrofoam walls?"

"Since this place can't be shut down, the clown decided to cheap it up. Really cheap it up."

"I see," said Ness. "Thanks for the information."

The orderly raised his cup in Ness' direction and resumed drinking his coffee. At least Ness thought it was coffee. He turned to Pikachu and Yoshi.

"What do you guys thi-"

"DARK MAGIC!" cried Yoshi. "We're screwed!"

"...what do you guys think?"

"I think it's probably true. The gates a big tip off unless we've all took acid."

Pikachu looked at them. They both shook their heads.

"So, I guess it's a potential way out," noted Ness.

"Yeah, a potential way out of living!" said Yoshi.

"That wasn't funny," said Pikachu.

"I wasn't being funny!" retorted Yoshi. "We don't even know what are their full capabilities. They could summon the forces of hell to open a portal beneath our very feet and swallow us whole!"

"Or," interjected Pikachu, "they could **not** be blood thirsty pagans and they could get us out of here. The institution won't call the police. That will expose the...what's a word stronger than corruption?"

"Let's keep this in mind for now," said Ness. "We'll sleep on it, and look around the hospital some more tomorrow morning."


	4. Chapter 4

"AAAAHHH!"

"AAAAHHH!"

"What the f*** are you doing!" demanded Ness.

"I just came to see if you woke up! I didn't know you would be so twitchy in the morning!"

"Maybe I'm twitchy because you've got blood around your mouth!" shouted Ness.

Yoshi touched his lips and licked the substance off his hand. Ness grimaced. Yoshi smirked.

"It's strawberry and raspberry syrup. I went to the cafeteria before you woke up."

Ness breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, good. For a moment there, I thought you killed someone and devoured them."

Yoshi shrugged. "It could still happen."

Ness looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Just...just give me a few minutes to brush my teeth."

They headed off to communal washrooms and along the way, they met other patients of the institution. Like themselves, they were completely aware of their surroundings and they too were wrongfully committed. One of them grabbed Yoshi.

"Help me!" pleaded an old man. "My name is Abraham Simpson. I don't belong here! My dagnabbed son used a box trap on me!"

Yoshi gripped the old man's arms with his own. "I'm right on it, sir. I'll contact the authorities and get you out of here."

"Oh bless your heart, you nutty, green dino."

As they walked away, Ness leaned over to Yoshi.

"When are you going to phone his son?"

"I'm doing no such thing. He called me nutty."

"If he didn't?"

"He didn't even give me the number."

The two made their way past the residential dormitories and the various other facilities, including one that was meant for summoning demons.

They both paused at that door.

Ness turned to Yoshi. "Do you think that's-"

Yoshi did not answer due to the fact he was no longer there. Ness spotted him in the distance, dashing away. Rather than stop and think of a snide comment, Ness joined him. It was thanks to this fear fueled sprint that they managed to find Pikachu within a short period of time. He was in the cafeteria, not eating poke food, but fresh fruits, vegetables and grains.

"How's the food?" asked Yoshi.

Pikachu answered through a mouthful. "Quite good."

Yoshi wiped his face. "Yeah, that's what was missing from the morning: a spittle and chewed food facial."

Ness sat down on the bench and helped himself from Pikachu's pile of food. He bit into a strawberry and found it to be exquisite in taste and texture.

"Wow," said Ness, "this is fantastic!"

Pikachu nodded. "This place is bereft of law and order but at least the food is great."

"I wonder why," muttered Ness as he helped himself to another strawberry before heading to the buffet.

After breakfast they decided to explore the rest of the institution. They came across another recreational area, but to their dismay, it was just a barren field filled with rocks and cinder blocks. There were even piles of re-bar. The patients, for some reason, decided to use these refuse piles to entertain themselves often causing injuries that required visits to Dr. Nick.

"Noo!" screamed a patient as he was wheeled out on a stretcher.

"This makes no sense," said Ness. "They know Dr. Nick's reputation. Why would they risk injury?"

"Maybe this place makes people insane," said Yoshi.

And then to their shock, they saw Pikachu reaching for a cinder block. Yoshi grabbed Pikachu's paw before it made contact. The pokemon rubbed his paw and stared warily at the block.

"Let's get out of here," rasped Pikachu.

They quickly left.

* * *

The mental institution was a large complex. There were several buildings surrounding the processing facility where they were interviewed by Dr. Nick. The dormitories that housed the so-called patients were several stories high, fielding several hundred modest sized rooms as well as a number of communal wash stations. There was a visiting center, although they noticed that the windows were caked with dust. To no one's surprise, the pharmacies were ransacked and the treatment centers were empty save a car battery, jumper cables, a chair with straps, and a bite guard. The staff quarters were well furnished and maintained. To their surprise, they discovered that the majority of the staff were quite coherent, unlike the ones that they met before.

"Does this mean they're violating the Hippocratic Oath if they work here?" asked Pikachu.

"No since they're not doctors practicing medicine, " replied Ness.

"Yeah," said Yoshi, "they're just aiding and abetting a tax cheat in running a mockery of a mental healing facility."

"Besides," added Ness, " I don't think there are any actually doctors here."

As they walked across the open grounds, Yoshi made a note of their situation.

"You know, we have a lot of free rein in this place."

"Yeah," said Pikachu, "it makes you wonder what's the point of having the orderlies. It's not as though this place houses inmates of Arkham Asylum, but I would still think that there would be some floors and rooms that are closed off."

"Well," said Ness, "there's one place we have yet to visit."

The trio warily made their way to the the maximum security facility that housed the truly dangerous and deranged of the institution. A concrete barrier with watch towers isolated the building and served as a buffer between the benign and the homicidal. It had no windows and appeared to be one giant concrete cube. The guard at the gate was truly a physically imposing man unlike most of the other orderlies. His posture was out of place with amongst his fellow co-workers as it seemed more military than civilian. His calm disciplined stare appraised the three, ascertaining the threat they represent before relaxing every so slightly. The booth that he was manning had a large object shrouded under a blanket. Ness wasn't sure but it seemed to be a claymore.

"Hi, uhmm, what is your name?" asked Pikachu.

The towering man answered in a voice that resembled a avalanche.

"Oskar," he rumbled in a heavy Russian accent.

The trio looked at each other in apprehension.

"Hello, Oskar," said Pikachu. "we're new here and we're wondering if you can answer a few questions."

The man pondered for a moment before nodding.

"Proceed," growled the guard.

"Can you describe the inmates here?" asked Ness.

"They are some of the most dangerous and delusional of humankind. If you were to meet one outside these grounds, consider your life forfeit."

"Cheerful sort, ain't he," whispered Yoshi.

Pikachu snickered which prompted Ness to elbow him.

"Ahem, sorry," said Pikachu, "had a sneeze that just wouldn't go through."

"Of course," said the guard.

"I suppose this area is off limits?" asked Yoshi.

The guard gave a simple nod.

"Well, that's that." said Yoshi. "Let's go back to the dorm and figure out another way out of here."

As they were about to leave, Ness halted and turned back.

"Are there really witches here?" he asked the guard.

The guard's eyes narrowed slightly. "No," he said curtly.

"And demons?"

Again, his eyes narrowed slightly. "No," he said curtly.

Ness stared at Oskar, wishing that he had his powers so he could read his thoughts. Obviously the man was hiding secrets regarding the facility.

"Well," said Ness, "it's been nice talking to you."

The guard nodded and watched as the three walked across the grounds towards the dormitories.


	5. Chapter 5

It was another day in the dreary halls of the faux mental hospital that the trio had to suffer through. They awoke, shuffled off to the cafeteria and made small talk.

"I had a weird dream last night," said Ness.

"Probably not as weird as mine," said Pikachu.

"I can probably top yours," said Yoshi.

"I doubt it," said Ness. "I dreamt that I was giant printer on the verge of running out of toner and than a giant golem appeared and kicked me right in the groin-"

"-and that's when you started photocopying candy," finished Pikachu.

They all looked at one another.

"Did we all have the same dream?" asked Yoshi.

"It looks like we did," said Ness.

"I think this place really does drive one insane," said Pikachu.

Ness frowned. "We've been here a few days now and so far we haven't discovered anything that could help us get out of here."

"What are you suggesting," asked Pikachu.

"We'll have to look into that room that we passed by on the way here."

Yoshi vehemently shook his head.

"I absolutely refuse to participate! I will not be devoured by a Balrog nor have my eyes ripped out by a Marlith!"

Ness stared at Yoshi in surprise.

"I am shock that you would suggest we would all rush to our dooms."

Yoshi breathed a sigh of relief.

"It'd be more prudent to have you go in first."

Yoshi attempted to dash off to the dormitories but Pikachu grabbed his arm.

"I don't like this anymore than you do," said Pikachu. "However, we're running out of choices and I have a feeling that we're going to end up in a fate worse than death."

Yoshi frowned at Pikachu. "Would it be any worse than having one's soul flayed?"

"Thank about it," interjected Ness, "we're slowly losing our minds in this place. How long do you think it'll be before we're trapped in a delusional world where you are ridden around like some pack animal by an obese man for all of eternity?"

Yoshi glared at Ness. Ness, to his credit, managed not to smirk. The two held their stare for several minutes. Finally Yoshi conceded.

"Alright, we'll go. But first I'm going to partake in my last meal."

* * *

The trio stood before the unremarkable door save for the fact that the words "Demon Summoning Room" was painted across the door in bold red.

"Apres vous," said a smirking Yoshi to Ness.

"Merci beaucoup," replied Ness with a sardonic smirk of his own as he turned the knob.

The three braced themselves as they walked through the door. The pitch blackness only amplified the budding terror that threatened to overtake them as their fear soaked minds envisioned the unspeakable horrors that awaited them pass the paper thin boundary between the world of mortals and the realm of demons.

And then Pikachu flipped the light switch and they discover the room to be a janitor's supply closet. The door closed with an earthly thud.

"Huh," commented Yoshi, "the brimstone I was smelling was just Ajax."

All three began to examine the room. Every square foot was covered, every object examined. The room was indeed a janitorial supply closet.

"Well," said Yoshi, "this has thankfully been a waste of our time."

Pikachu exhaled a sigh. "Now what do we do? If we stay any longer in this place, we'll be no different from those morons that roam the halls."

"Wait a minute," said Ness, "the orderlies! Most of them are completely cognitive of themselves and their surroundings. They should have been driven nuts by this place long ago."

Yoshi snorted. "Whose to say that they're not."

"Shut up and think about it," said Ness. "They're no different from the patients-"

Pikachu and Yoshi slowly shook their heads

"…they at least have some mental patterns comparable to the orderlies-"

They slowly shook their heads.

"…they share a similar cerebral composition that would provide – WILL YOU STOP DOING THAT! They're not crazy because they happen to be sheltered from the effects of whatever is doing this."

Yoshi snapped his fingers…claws…whatever!

"Their dormitory!"

"Yes," exclaimed Ness. "We can ride this out by sneaking into the dormitory of the medical staff!"

"And if they explicitly forbid us, we can just threaten them with excessive violence!" said Pikachu.

"Let's get going!" said Ness.

They opened the door and rushed into a corridor of crudely carved rock which was illuminated with a series of torches. The door slammed shut on its own accord.

"Arggghhh, shit!" screamed Ness.

"No!" sobbed Yoshi. "We had a plan this time; one that was going to work and had a near 100% survival rate!"

"Quick," said Pikachu, "back through the door!"

They turned around to find a wall of solid rock.

Ness sighed. "We might as well look around."

They turned around again and were confronted by a squadron of heavily armored and armed warriors, mages, clerics, and even a few towering individuals in power armor. One of them leveled a rail-gun at Ness' head.

"Come with us, please."

* * *

"You know," said Yoshi, "these people could be-"

"No pop culture references," rumbled one of their escorts.

"What about obscured references?" asked Yoshi.

"No."

The three were lead through a convoluted maze that confused Ness. His sense of direction was completely erratic within these walls. At one point, he was certain that he was walking perpendicular to the earth. They went past cells that were inscribed with symbols and sigils, adorned with wards, and constructed of some sort of material that sent a disturbing shiver through Ness. All three of them could hear faint unearthly screams behind the cell doors. They could hear faint sounds of a something trying to get out. The scratching of nails upon concrete grew more frantic as they past by.

"I'm scared," said Yoshi.

"Ditto," said Pikachu.

"I thought you were a Pikachu," joked Ness.

The pokemon was too frightened to answer back. Ness swallowed his own fear and tried to focus on the solid ground he was treading upon. They soon came before an oak door guarded by two wolves. Two very large wolves. Ness was certain they were not of the Earth variety. Their fur was the color of ripe wheat. Their eyes were a plethora of color, shifting and swirling within the iris like a storm. They had claws and teeth that were the size of daggers. Each paw was adorned with a bracer that emitted an energy that irritated and disoriented Ness.

"Morsels to eat, Karl?"

And apparently they could speak English.

"Not today, Fenris," responded the knight. "These are the ones that stumbled through the gate."

"Ah," spoke the other wolf. "Then a debriefing before a snack."

Karl chuckled. "No, Tanya. They are to be unharmed."

Tanya huffed in disappointment. "A shame."

"If you want, I shall bring you both a leg of lamb when I am done."

The wolves licked their chops.

"We will hold you to your word," said Fenris.

Karl nodded to them both and strode to the door and knocked.

"Come in," said a voice from within the room.

Karl opened the door and ushered the three inside.


	6. Chapter 6

The room had a rustic ambiance. The floor was polished oak. There were several bookcases crafted from old growth trees. Upon those bookcases were leather bounded tomes of various subjects. Books of physics and biology were in juxtaposition with tomes regarding demonic possession and exorcism.

The rest of the shelves were filled with various items. Bone carvings, idols, and various glass containers held strange liquids that shifted and moved. Even through the psychic collar, Ness was capable of picking up the strange eldrich energies in the room. Pikachu and Yoshi were apparently oblivious. Right near the shelves were racks of weapons, both modern and medieval. He could identify assault weapons, swords, axes, revolvers. The rest were a mystery to him.

At a large ornate desk was a tall woman with her hair done in a simple ponytail. She was dressed in business attire and was focused intently upon her computer. Their escort, Karl, and the three waited. It would be another minute before the woman looked up from her screen and gave the knight a curt nod. He made a shallow bow and left.

She stood up and walked up to them, the clicking of her high heels emphasizing that they were alone. She glanced at each of them before settling her eyes upon Ness.

"How did you activate the gate?" she asked.

Ness swallowed. "I didn't activate any gate. We just stumbled into that stupid janitorial closet!"

"Yeah!" said Pikachu. "We just shuffled stuff around in there. That's all."

Yoshi was silent and clutching at his paws.

The woman stared at each of them again and suddenly her eyes focused on the anti-psychic collar.

"Where did you get that?" she demanded.

"This? I don't know. When I was being committed, wrongly I might add, they put this on me."

She snarled and went immediately to her phone at her desk and punched in a few numbers.

"Jacob," she said, "get in my office. Now!"

She slammed the receiver back down and turned towards the trio.

"Apparently, you three have just been victims of unfortunate circumstances."

Ness shrugged. "Happens to us all the time."

Soon after, a barrel chested man entered the room. He was tall in stature and dark in hair. He wore a blacksmith's apron a belt of tools around his waist.

"Natasha," he boomed, "how may I be of assistance?"

She pointed at the collar, prompting Jacob to go over and inspect the object of contention. He reached into his apron pocket and pulled out a pair of spectacles and examined the collar.

"Oh dear," he muttered.

"Why does the boy have one of your collars around his neck, Jacob?" demanded the Natasha.

"It must be Andrew," said Jacob. "He was to oversee the proper disposal of the spent collars."

"Maybe this time you will revoke his apprenticeship. He has been nothing but a pain and you have been covering him far too often."

"He made a mistake, Natasha. One that is relatively harmless. What were the chances that it happened to be bounded to this boy?"

"Excuse me," interrupted Ness, "but what is going on?"

Jacob stood back up and gestured towards Natasha. "She will explain."

Natasha glowered at him before turning to Ness.

"I think you can tell already that this is not a mental hospital. Not in the traditional sense. The true purpose of this installation is to exorcise demonic possession and to serve as a rehabilitation center."

She pointed at the collar.

"The purpose of that device is to forcibly suppress anything that is deemed abnormal for an ordinary human being. It covers a wide range of metaphysical phenomenons such as magic and psychic energy. It also activates the gate, allowing passage for the wearer into the prison. The standard practice is that they are discarded when they are at the end of their useful life. It is sold as jewelry or melted down to be reforged. However, as long as it retains some of its potency, it will work as intended"

She glared at Jacob.

"Is that not right, Jacob?"

He glared back. "It would have become mundane soon enough, Natasha."

He gestured at the collar. "What were the chances that the fools in this madhouse would purchase the collar not knowing it was actually capable of suppressing-"

Jacob stopped and frowned. He looked at Natasha and she also came up with the same idea.

They both looked at Ness. He flinched from their scrutiny.

"Take off the collar," asked Jacob.

"I...I can't," said Ness.

"What power do you possess," asked Natasha.

"Uhhh...psychic based."

"Can anyone confirm your activities in the past five years?"

"Why does it matter?" demanded Ness.

"I need to know whether or not that the collar is justified," replied Natasha.

"Hey, I'm not some evil villain, alright? I don't go around setting people on fire or anything like that."

"How did you come to be this way," asked Jacob.

"A small meteor crashed on Earth and I became exposed to its radiation."

The Jacob and Natasha exchanged glances of astonishment.

"That should have killed you," said Jacob.

"Yeah," said Ness, "that would have been the logical conclusion. So, can you get this collar off of me?"

"I'm afraid I cannot," said Jacob.

Ness felt the onset of a ulcer. "Why not?" asked Ness. "You made this thing."

Jacob shrugged his shoulders apologetically. "That collar is broken. We removed all the runes that control the collar before it was to be disposed. It would have done nothing had it been worn by an ordinary person. I would not worry too much though. The collar will expire."

"How long will that take?"

Jacob pondered for a moment. "At least a month. It also depends on the power that the collar is suppressing."

"Well, what am I suppose to do in the meantime?"

Natasha smiled. "For this misunderstanding, we will push through the paperwork to have you released immediately."

"Thank you so much," said Yoshi. "These past few days have been some of the worst in my life. But now that I know it's all going to be over, I want to go back to buffet for a farewell meal."

"Was that part of the "deal" with Krusty," asked Pikachu.

Natasha grimaced at the name. "Yes, it was part of the agreement negotiated with that hack of a clown. I do not know how that story about witches became so popular."

"There was a guard that was wandering around pouring coffee over his head. Was that also due to your organization," asked Ness.

"Yes," replied Natasha. "There was an incident that required a hasty mind wipe. He will be fine in a week."

"And the insanity amongst the inmates, was that you too?" asked Yoshi.

Natasha frowned. "I am afraid I do not understand."

"The so-called patients are tossing cinder blocks at each other," replied Yoshi. "What's more mind boggling is that there going to Dr. Nick for treatment."

Natasha quickly turned to Jacob. "Sound the alarm, muster the garrison and check the cells."

Jacob nodded and left immediately.

"What's going on," asked Ness.

Natasha kicked off her heels and went over to a mantle on her desk and removed a platinum chain adorned with an emerald. She grasped the necklace in both hands and whispered words to the stone. Bands of light surrounded her, growing brightly before solidifying into intricate plates of armor. The emerald of the necklace transformed and became embedded in the forehead of an ornate helmet. She jammed the helmet upon her head and selected a glimmering broad sword from one of the racks.

"We have a possessed roaming the grounds."


	7. Chapter 7

Before she left, she ordered the three of them to remain within her chambers. While Pikachu and Ness chafed at being told to so stay out of the way, Yoshi was fine with the command.

"Besides," he reasoned, "presently, none of us are capable of dealing with this."

"Yeah," replied Ness, "but it feels weird just sitting on the sidelines."

They waited, passing the time by going around her room, examining the various esoteric items. They tried to use the computer but found it was password protected. And guarded by a miniature gargoyle. And that gargoyle was not happy with Ness' proximity to the computer.

"Ah, shit!" screamed Ness. "Look, you flying rat, I'm moving away! See! See!"

The gargoyle glared balefully at him before curling up on the desktop keyboard.

They tried picking up the weapons but they were surrounded by a field of force.

"Please refrain from severing your own limbs."

The three jumped at the sound of her voice and spun to face her. She walked past all of them without uttering a reprimand. She laid her helmet upon the mantle and placed her sword on rack. She grabbed her heels and tapped her armor three times. The armor flared brightly before turning into bands light that retracted into the emerald. She was once again adorned in her business and attire. She settle into her seat and slipped on her high-heels.

"What did you discover?" asked Pikachu.

Natasha drummed her fingers on her desk angrily. The gargoyle cooed and draped itself around her neck. She stroked it by reflex. "We found nothing," she said. "The good news is that the cells are all secured. But this means that the possessed is outside the prison and is amongst the general populace."

"Who even cares?" said Yoshi. "Some of the people there are even worst the demons."

Everyone stared at him. Yoshi scoffed.

"Oh don't pretend to adhere to your altruistic bullshit," barked Yoshi. "Springfield is the worst city in America. Two weeks ago when there was an eclipse, they thought God abandoned them. Did they pray? No. Did they look after their fellow man? No. Did they repent? No. They started rioting and looting because obviously that's the only way back into God's good graces."

"Didn't they also rioted because they were out of toilet paper?" said Ness.

"They did," answered Pikachu. "They also rioted when they found out that Pi was not exactly three."

Natasha coughed politely. "Yes, well, despite the evidence, it is not my place to judge them."

Yoshi blew a raspberry. "Oh come on! Can you honestly say that if you were rendered amnesic in the middle of Springfield that you would not mistaken it for a congregation of demons?"

Natasha opened her mouth to answer, but thought better of it and then glared at Yoshi.

"I do not have time to banter about the moral bankruptcy of Springfield. I have a possessed to apprehend."

"How are you going to find this person?" asked Ness.

Natasha furrowed her brows. "I am not sure that I should divulge our tactics to you three. In fact, you should be all sequestered into a secured facility."

"Wait," pleaded Ness, "despite our youth and appearance, we're not unfamiliar to fighting the...abnormal. We can help."

She looked at each of them, sizing them up. Finally she pursed her lips and gave in to circumstance.

"We are working on a detection spell that will sweep the area and will allow us to immediately pinpoint the individual."

"That's great new," said Ness.

Natasha shook her head. "It is not entirely. We have hypothesized that the possessed is feeding off the pain and suffering of the institution due to its limitless abundance. That is why it has not killed anyone. Once the spell has been activated, it will know that it has been discovered and will begin killing the populace of the institution."

"Don't you have another option," asked Pikachu.

"That was considered as our option of last resort. We are considering others that will involve my men moving through the institution and screening each person."

"That would leave them open to be attacked," said Yoshi.

Natasha nodded grimly. "It is the risks of this vocation."

"Wait," said Ness. "We could look for the person ourselves."

Natasha looked at Ness in shock. That paled in comparison to Yoshi's look of outrage.

"What the f***, man!" yelled Yoshi. "Maybe you didn't notice, but we're out of our league here!"

"I agree with your friend," said Natasha. "You are not suited to fight a possessed especially without your powers."

"Not fight, just find," replied Ness. "I can detect him through passive sensory perception and we can call you in to do the rest."

Natasha raised an eyebrow. "You are capable of such a feat? Jacob said the collar should be wearing off in a month."

Ness looked at her in confusion. "Yeah, so?"

"No," said Natasha, "you do not understand. You should not be able to access any aspect of your abilities at all until the collar is spent."

She leaned forward on her desk and looked at Ness with a keen eye.

"What are you?"

He met her stare with equal intensity.

"I'm just a kid."

Moments past before Ness heard an odd sound. It was similar to the sound of a car trying to start. And then he realized that Natasha shaking. Finally she burst out laughing, clutching her sides. The trio watched in bewilderment. After a whole minute, she managed to settle down and composed herself.

"I will allow you to carry out this endeavor. Jacob will provide you with a cell phone to contact us."

"Can you get him to remove my collar? asked Pikachu.

"Of course," said Natasha.

"What about the orderlies?" asked Yoshi. "what if they search us?"

Natasha waved a hand dismissively. "They have neither the skill or motivation to find water in an ocean. I wish you the best of luck."


	8. Chapter 8

In flash of light, they were back in the janitor's closet. Karl accompanied them to ensure their passage went smoothly.

He saluted the three. "I admire your bravery for not many would be willing to face a possessed with nothing but the clothing on their back."

With a flash, Karl disappeared.

"Clothing's overrated," snorted Yoshi.

"I guess you'll die faster," said Ness.

Yoshi glowered at him before they left the closet. They walked into a hallway that was filled with the citizens of Springfield. They saw several fights in progress as well as people shouting at inanimate objects. Several individuals were thrown through windows. Once they landed they begun fighting each other.

"Looks like nothings changed," noted Pikachu.

Ness waved a hand. "Let's get going. We have a lot of ground to cover."

The trio began searching the dormitory with Ness walking as close as he could to other people. Occasionally they would take offense to which Pikachu would shock them into unconsciousness. Their progress was excellent. Ness only needed a few seconds to clear a person. Unfortunately, he didn't find anything other the usual mix of loathing, contempt, and murderous rage that characterized the typical Springfieldian.

They moved onward to the rest of the floors. It would be another 50 people shocked into unconsciousness before they cleared the patients' dormitory. It would take them an hour to cover the rest of the institution, excluding the prison, before moving on to the dormitories of the medical staff. To their dismay, Ness did not detect anything that would remotely indicated a possessed. They decided to take a break at the cafeteria.

"Maybe we missed someone," said Pikachu.

Ness shook his head. "No, we're not. I kept count."

Yoshi craned his neck back from the giant melon he was eviscerating. "Did you double count?"

"Everyone's psychic signature is distinctly different," explained Ness. "I know the difference."

He ran his hands over his face before removing his hat and scratched his hair roughly.

"What are we missing? What permutation are we overlooking?'

"What about Dr. Nick?" said Yoshi between bites of a turkey sandwich. "He likes to inflict pain."

Ness shuddered. "I forgot about him."

"Did you really?" inquired Pikachu.

"Alright, fine," confessed Ness, "I was hoping some unfortunate accident would happen to him before we got to this point. Wouldn't you have done the same?"

"I would, but I'm not the psychic here."

"How do we arrange a meeting with him," ask Yoshi.

"I think we all know what is the fastest way to him," said Ness.

They all looked at each other somberly. One of them had to be the sacrificial goat.

"Gentlemen," declared Ness, "the time-honored tradition."

And then they played rounds of Rock-Papers-Scissors. Within moments, it was all over.

The green dinosaur slammed his fist against the table. "Damn it!' screamed Yoshi. "Why did I pick rock?"

"Rules are rules, Yoshi," said Pikachu.

And so they headed to the recreational grounds to smash Yoshi's foot into fine paste.

"It doesn't have to fine paste," pleaded Yoshi.

"Probably not," grunted Ness as he hefted a large cinder block, "but the pain has to be genuine."

Yoshi took a deep breath. "Okay, on the count of three: one, two-"

Ness tossed the block onto Yoshi's foot. Yoshi fell to the ground, clutching his injured foot.

"What happened to three!" he screamed.

"It was going to happen whether we reached three or not," explained Ness.

The next few minutes would be of Yoshi rolling on the ground screaming death threats at Ness who was trying his best to look nonchalant. An orderly soon arrived to care for the injured dinosaur.

"No!' begged Yoshi. "Anyone but Dr. Nick! Just shoot me like you would for a lame horse or a dog with rabies!"

"I'm sorry," said the orderly calmly, "but I'm not qualified to make that judgment."

"He's panicking," hissed Pikachu to Ness.

"No he's not. He's just hamming it up," replied Ness.

They watched as Yoshi kicked out with his uninjured foot while trying to claw away.

"Alright, fine," conceded Ness. "He's losing it."

Pikachu and Ness helped the orderly strap Yoshi into a wheelchair.

"Can we accompany him?" asked Ness. "He happens to be a friend of ours."

"Sure," said the orderly.

The four made their made of the building and towards Dr. Nick's office. All the way, Yoshi was cringing in the wheelchair, imagining a threshold of pain that would surpass definition by any written language. Half way to their destination, Ness started to drop back a bit, grabbing Pikachu on the way. He compelled him to kneel onto the grass.

"Hey," called out the orderly, "is something wrong?"

"Not really," replied Ness. "We're just watching some ants carry a potato chip. You can go on ahead without us."

The orderly shrugged while Yoshi wailed. As soon as they moved off, Ness quietly removed the cell phone given to him and pressed auto-dial.

"What are you doing?" whispered Pikachu. "We're not there, yet."

"It's him," whispered Ness. "The orderly."

Pikachu stole a quick glace. "How? You cleared all the orderlies and their quarters are suppose to be shielded."

"That was our assumption. If you think about it, the orderlies were never constantly in a position to incur grievous harm unlike the patients. The demon must remain dormant until the moment it senses immense pain. He lays out the insanity magic-"

"Maybe he really did make them bored," said Pikachu.

Ness frowned in thought and than shook his head. "- and waits for the moment some poor sap is under Dr. Nick's care to start feeding. This orderly must unconsciously be driven to arrive first ."

"It figures," muttered Pikachu. "No medical personnel responds that fast."

Ness rolled his eyes.

"Hello?" said Natasha through the phone.

"He's on his way to Dr. Nick's examination room through the southern pathway."

There was a dial tone immediately afterward and Ness quickly deposited the cell phone into his pocket.

Almost immediately, a bright aura of azure energy enclosed each of the buildings of the institution. A circle of light was inscribed around the orderly followed by sigils and crosses of divine light that surrounded him. The orderly began screaming an unearthly wail. Yoshi was screaming his head off as his wheelchair rolled into a thorny rose bush. The orderly attempted to breach the circle, but drew his hand back as the divine barrier seared his hand. He collapsed onto his knees and suddenly threw his head back. Plumes of darkness emerged from his eyes and mouth. The barrier held the noxious entity for a moment, but eventually failed. The plume flew through the air before aiming itself at Ness and Pikachu. Ness threw his arms in front of himself even though knowing the futility of the action.

The plume crashed against an invisible barrier and flowed past. It tried to attack Yoshi but met the same resistance. It flew through the air aimlessly.

"Are you well, Ness?"

Ness turned to his right and saw Natasha in her armor along with what must have been the entire garrison along with the two giant wolves that guarded Natasha's chambers. She offered her hands to both Pikachu and Ness. They both accepted and got back onto their feet. A pair managed to get Yoshi from the Rose bushes. With disturbing accuracy, he picked off and ate every thorn that perforated him.

"Yeah, I'm fine. We're fine. Thanks for the save."

Natasha smiled broadly. "It is only a small repayment for what you did."

They watched as the plume moved erratically through the sky.

"Aren't you going to catch it?" asked Pikachu.

"Not at this moment," replied Natasha. "The longer it remains outside the host, the weaker it becomes. All the facilities and my people are protected. There is no one for several dozen kilometers in every direction. Once its strength is depleted, we can teleport to its location and cast a banishment spell without fear of attempted reprisals."

Suddenly the plume stopped in mid-air. The garrison murmured in confusion.

"Why is it doing that?" asked Ness.

"I have no idea," replied Natasha.

The plume dived past the walls of the grounds and then all was silent. The momentary quiet was shattered by a monstrous roar that quaked the ground. A claw larger than a Humvee grasped the outer wall and used it as an anchor to haul its massive body upwards. Ness gaped at the sight. Other than larger horns and orbs of fire for eyes, it was unmistakable who it was.

Bowser.

The demon had found a new host.


	9. Chapter 9

"Holy Mother of God," uttered Natasha.

The garrison immediately drew their weapons and prepared their spells. Pikachu started gathering electricity within his pouches. Ness could only watch in frustration.

The possessed Bowser cracked the wall with a downward blow of his fist before shattering it into pieces with a swift kick. He ambled along past the rubble, sneering at the crowd before him.

"Greetings, Natasha," he growled. "I've heard so much about you."

Natasha raised her sword in a striking position. "I am afraid you have me at a disadvantage. I have not had the pleasure of knowing your name."

"My apologizes," he roared. "I am called many names. I have killed many beings and laid waste to countless kingdoms. My name is reserved for those seeking death, for there could be no other reason why they would stand before me."

"I am the one called Bob."

Sensing the confusion and bewilderment, he laughs at his own jest, clutching his belly. The foul fumes cast forth by his laughter made Ness and Pikachu gag. The entire garrison were wincing from the offending odor.

"His body has been completely corrupted," said a choking knight. "I have never smelled anything so putrid!"

"I don't know about that," Pikachu remarked wryly. "Every toilet he used has been sealed in concrete."

"Attack!" shouted Natasha.

Bolts of energy flew forth and entered his maw. The dinosaur fell to his knees and he gasped in pain. Hulking knights rushed at a dead charge and to attack his limbs or to leap onto his shell spikes to climb towards his head. The soldiers in power armor were launching rail-gun rounds at his eyes and joints. Wizards, witches and clerics were preparing spells of harm and healing

"This is like World of Warcraft," noted Ness.

He sudden felt a light slap on the back of the head. He turned and saw a glowering Natasha.

"I believe my subordinate informed you and your cohorts to not make pop culture references."

She hefted her sword and charged at the dinosaur. Bob managed to recover from the initial assault and began swiping at the knights and warriors milling around his feet. He sent several flying through the air. Intermittently he would be bombarded with pulses of magical energy and he would have to pause to raise an arm to shield his face.

Ness watched in awe at the coordination and skill displayed. They were fighting like people possessed against...someone possessed.

Yeah, I know, that was lame.

"You think they'll kill Bowser?" asked Pikachu.

"I hope not," said Ness. "I still haven't forgotten what Peach and the others did to-"

Bob suddenly reared back and roared. Ness and Pikachu were immediately flattened and several knights were sent flying. A dark sphere of energy appeared before Bob and started to expand. It quickly encompassed the entire battlefield as well as Ness and Pikachu. A wave of deep despair and anguish slithered through Ness. He gritted his teeth and girded his mind, but gradually the darkness overcame him.

* * *

It was relentless. A swarm of disease and filth encircled him. It battered away at his mental defenses, seeking just a crack to slip through. Ness feverishly tried to think of way to battle back or at least survive. He remembered Jacob saying the collar prevented the use of his powers, but he never expounded in what capacity. It certainly suppressed any use in the physical world, but what about the mental landscape?

As he pondered upon the limitations of the collar, the black mass lashed out with a particularly powerful strike. He felt his defenses cracking. There was no other option. He allowed the noxious cancer an entrance. It roared in triumph as it came rushing through. Before it could though, Ness attempted to summon up a spark of his power. He was rewarded with a bright flare. He signed in relief and created a screen of fire across the entrance. In it's haste, the mass was unable to avoid the wall of fire. As it passed through, the fire immolated its surface and began to burn to its core. It roared with anger and struck out at Ness. He summoned up psy-shields to ward off the attack before boxing the entity. It pounded futilely at its enclosure as it was consumed by the psychic fire. When he confirmed there was no traces left of it, he headed back to the waking world.

* * *

Ness' eyes snapped open and he fumbled into a sitting position. He coughed as his lungs took in foul air. He looked around and found that he was the only one who had successfully weathered the attack. He saw Pikachu prone on the ground. He rushed over and checked for a pulse. It was rapid and uneven and his eyes were darting back and forth. The pokemon was hysterical with fear.

A thunderous crash stole his attention away from the disabled pokemon. The possessed Bowser was hammering away at the prison. He spotted Oskar near the gateway, lying on the ground and still grasping his claymore.

First things first, he had to get Bob away from the prison. Phase two would involve surviving and he had no idea how to accomplish such a feat. As far as he could tell, he was the only one still standing between Springfield and a horde of possessed souls and demons...as well as their missing citizens. He had no clue if there was a contingency plan that was in place or if they were all f*****. At this point, all he could do was delay and hope that something would happen. He decided to attack the one thing that seemed common to demons in every fantasy setting: their pride.

He ran up to the demon, cupped his hands to his mouth, and started yelling, hoping the dinosaur could hear him.

"Hey," screamed Ness, "hey...uh...Bob! Hey! Bob! Down here!"

Bob paused in mid-swing and deliberate and calmly turned his baleful stare towards Ness.

"You are very stupid, boy," rumbled Bob.

Ness gulped. "Yes," replied Ness. "that may be true. No one alive would consider attracting the attention of a violent and dangerous demon such as yourself. However, I believe that your remark only shows ignorance to your own situation."

Bob's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

Here goes nothing, thought Ness. "In possessing this creature, Bowser, you not only demonstrated stupidity, but also lack of foresight."

Bob knelt down and leaned in closer. "Go on," he prodded.

Ness suppressed a reflex gag from Bob's fetid breath. "What I mean is that you are possessing one of the most pathetic cretin that has ever lived."

Bob scoffed. "Are you jesting me, boy? I am inhabiting a creature that can grow to monstrous proportions! I am now stronger than most dragons! I can breathe fire that can melt steel!"

Ness nodded. "You are correct. However, search Bowser's memories. How many times was he victorious."

Bob eyes glazed over as he pored over Bowser's life. To his astonishment, he encountered memory after memory fragment on his host being defeated.

"Bah!" shouted Bob. "There have always been great warrior-"

"He's a plumber," Ness corrected him.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Your host keeps losing to a plumber. One plumber. Not a warrior who spent years honing his skills before being tested by the fires of battle, but a plumber, who sits on his fat ass, eats pasta and has never done anything physically strenuous. You, my good chum, are a riotous joke."

The gaze of Bob turned hateful. "Than I shall forge a new reputation. I shall began by devouring this 'plumber' and razing the lands that he has defended."

Ness raised a finger to emphasize his next point. "Ah, but wait," said Ness, "in doing so, you would be enhancing Bowser's reputation. He will be known far and wide as the destroyer of the indomitable Mushroom Kingdom. Is that what you want to do? Charitable work for a down-trodden vaudevillian?"

Bob clenched his paws so tightly it sounded like he was grinding rocks. The rage generated by Bob produced an aura that was blackening the ground he stood upon. It was then that Ness just noticed a vibration from the cell phone. He had received a text message.

**Emergency Broadcast**

**Remain in rooms. Allow no entrance.  
**

**As last resort, persuade disturbed individual(s) to center**

**Message repeats until all clear broadcast  
**

Well, there was the "something" that was suppose to happen. He quickly slipped the cellphone into his pocket. He deduced from the message that he had to get him to the center of the institution. Now the problem was how to get him there.

Fortunately, he didn't have to think of a way.

"Wait," mumbled Bob. "There's something about you that's...unique."

Ness didn't wait for him to finish his thought. He took off toward the center.

Bob was momentarily stunned by Ness' action before he slowly ambled around to chase after him.

"You're a psychic!" roared Bob. "A far better vessel than this crude body!"

Ness estimated maybe three maybe four steps would be all it take before Bob could catch him. He saw a shadow on the ground and dove to his right just before Bob's monstrous paw clawed through the pavement and several meters of soil from the ground that Ness once occupied. He quickly got up and resumed sprinting for the center.

"Get back here, you little bastard!" roared Bob.

Seeing no choice, Ness ducked into the treatment center. Bob stopped right before he barreled into the building. He had found a suitable host. Crippling him would not be wise.

"It is only a matter of time, boy," said Bob. "You have no where to run."

Ness began searching through the center looking for an exit. Unfortunately, Bob was capable of surveying the entire building. Ness had no way out.

"Be reasonable," lectured Bob, "with your abilities and my powers, this entire world will be fall before us, prostrating and serving our every whim. We can create a paradise the likes of which that man has dreamed of their beginnings."

Ness wasn't paying attention. While Bob was trying to lure him out, he collected an electric generator and jumper cables from one of the treatment rooms. He turned it on and dialed up the amperage to maximum levels. He rolled it near an exit furthest away from the center before going outside.

"Hey, asshole!" shouted Ness. "I'm over here."

Bob immediately stomped over to Ness' location. When he was a few steps away, Ness darted back into the center. Bob bent down and reached inside to grab Ness. His paw pulverized the front door and ripped up the linoleum floors as it flailed around. When he was close enough, Ness applied the clamps onto Bob. The demon roared in pain and pulled his paw out. The electric generator that was attached to came flying out as well and slammed into his face. Bob crushed the device and started breathing fire into the entrance way. Ness immediately jumped into an adjacent room. He stomped his sneakers to put out his ignited shoes. He climbed out the window and started sprinting towards the center of the institution.

Bob soon realized his folly and ceased his fire breathing. He checked inside and sensed no smell of charred bones or meat. He stood up and spotted Ness in the distance. He smashed his way through the treatment center in pursuit of the boy. They both arrived at the center of the institution nearly at the same time. Unfortunately, nothing else was there.

"Ah, shit," swore Ness.

Bob chuckled as drew close to Ness.

"What is the matter, boy?" mocked Bob. "Did you realize that your struggle is pointless?"

Ness gulped and backed away. He was too far from any building but it was pointless to find shelter. Bob would just smash apart the building and pluck him from the rubble.

He was so absorbed in his situation, he failed to realize the glowing hemisphere of azure light that surrounded him and Bob.

Bob twisted around with a look of anguish on his face. "No! No!" screamed Bob. He jerked his gaze to Ness. "Fooled! Fooled by a mere child!"

He stepped forward to grab Ness who darted away and ran head on towards the barrier.

His hand first made contact and other than a slight tingle it passed through completely unharmed. The rest of him made it through just a second before Bob's claw crashed into the barrier. The barrier flared brightly and started sending out tendrils of energy that struck and channeled through Bob. He collapsed in a heap. The only action he could do was track Ness' movements and condemn him.

"I will find a way out of the Abyss, boy," vowed Bob, "and when I find you, you will beg for death!"

Ness flipped him the bird. "I like to see you try it, you third-rate imp! When you get down there, you tell everyone that you were bested by Dr. Nick Riviera!"

"Ha, you fool," trumpeted the demon, "now that I know your name, you will never escape me! I will find you, and you will beg for death!"

Much like the orderly, plumes of darkness emerged from Bowser's eyes and mouth. This time, a portal was created in mid-air. Within its opening, Ness saw madness and despair: a veritable gateway to inhuman horror...or the city boundaries of Springfield. The plume of darkness was forced through the opening. It sealed shut and the field disappeared. With the demon gone, Bowser, and his horns, shrunk back to their usual size. Surprisingly he was still asleep even after all that occurred.

Ness breathed a sigh of relief. It was over and they were all still alive. As he basked in the glow of victory, several portals appeared. Streams of knights, mages and clerics came forth. A towering warrior strode towards Ness.

"Do not be afraid, boy. We are here to save you."

"Thanks," Ness said dryly, "I feel so safe, now."


	10. Chapter 10

In the garrison's infirmary, Ness was treated for burns, abrasions, and cuts he suffered during his battle with Bob.

"Why can't you use your magic?" asked Ness.

"Because," lectured the cleric, "it is better for the body to heal on its own if possible."

Ness snorted. "It's not like white magic can cause cancer."

The cleric said not a word in response.

"Right?" asked Ness.

The cleric smiled before making a motion of zipping her lips shut before walking away.

Ness shook his head and walked over to Natasha's bedside. At the sight of Ness, she smiled broadly.

"And the hero deigns me worthy of a visit."

Ness blushed. "Thank you. I can't take all the credit. It was thanks to that banishment circle that you had inscribed at the center of the institution that saved the day."

"No, it is not," said Natasha. "Without you, the circle would have been useless."

"Hey," said Yoshi, "what about me? My foot is smashed!"

They both ignored him and continued to talk as though he were a fly on the wall.

"How are you feeling?" asked Ness.

"I am feeling better. At times, though, I feel nauseous, but that will soon fade away."

"That's good to hear."

They were interrupted by an enormous shadow that loomed over them. It was Oskar. Despite being unarmored, he only suffered cracked ribs and a broken arm. He handed Ness some documents. Ness read over them and smiled.

"Thanks, Oskar."

He giant nodded and walked away.

"You have earned his admiration," said an impressed Natasha.

"What makes you say that," asked Ness.

"He considers himself a solider first and only. He despises any paperwork, especially if it is not for procedural purposes."

"Excellent!" exclaimed Ness. "Hey guys! We're getting out of here!"

There was weak cheer from Pikachu. Yoshi was pointing out something important. Probably.

"My foot is smashed! Shouldn't I stay here for a while"

"We have arranged transport back to your residence," said Natasha. "You will be home within a day."

She extended a hand to Ness. He grasped it and than was drawn into a hug.

"Thank you for saving us," she whispered.

"Thank you for the ride home," he replied.

"Hey!" shouted Yoshi. "I can't go anywhere, yet! I still need morphine! Hey! Hey! I know you people aren't deaf! Can anyone hear-"

**THE END**


End file.
